DRS use
For safety reasons, in 2013 drivers are only be able to utilise the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid within the designated DRS zones during practice and qualifying. Previously drivers had been free to deploy the system as they pleased in these sessions.

Active double-DRS systems outlawed
In 2012 Mercedes developed a clever concept whereby air was channelled through an opening in the rear-wing endplate when DRS was activated and then fed through the car to help stall the front wing. For 2013 active drag reducing systems involving the DRS, such as this, have been banned.

Stepped noses
Teams have the option of tidying up the aesthetics of their cars in 2013 with the introduction of new regulations aimed at improving the look of ‘ugly’ stepped noses first seen in 2012. A small piece of laminate - nicknamed a ‘modesty' or 'vanity' panel - may now be used to smooth the nose section.

Crash testing
To make F1 cars ever safer, tougher new tests on roll structures and the survival cell have been introduced for 2013. Furthermore, every chassis that a team produces, as opposed to just one, will now be subject to a static load test of the survival cell.

Curfews
The team personnel curfew - which prevents team members from being in the paddock during specified periods - has been extended from six to eight hours on Thursday nights for 2013. The number of exceptions allowed during a season has also been reduced from four to two.

Front wing tests
For 2013 front wing deflection tests will be more stringent to lessen the possibility of flexible bodywork being used to enhance aerodynamic performance. The test involves a 1,000N (100kg) load applied at two different points on both the longitudinal and transverse axes. The amount the wing may deflect has been reduced from 20mm to 10mm. This is to prevent teams from using front wings that automatically change their aerodynamic properties when the air-speed (and thus the weight-load) on the Wing changes (less drag at high speed, higher downforce at lower speeds).

Minimum weight
The minimum weight of the car and driver has been increased from 640kg to 642kg to compensate for the slightly increased weight of Pirelli's 2013 tyres. The mandatory weight distribution has also been adjusted accordingly (292kg:343kg front to rear, 7kg room to play with).

Force majeure
The ‘force majeure’ allowance relating to when a car stops on the track during qualifying has been deleted from the regulations. For 2013 any car that stops on the track must have enough fuel for the mandatory one-litre minimum sample plus an additional amount proportional to the amount of fuel that would have been used in returning to the pits (determined by the FIA).

Qualifying
Not an actual regulation change, but as the official 2013 entry list comprises 22 cars - two fewer than in 2012 - six cars rather than seven will now be eliminated at the end of both Q1 and Q2.

Championship entry fees
Championship entry fees have been revised. Red Bull, as constructors’ champions, were required to pay US$500,000 plus US$6000 for each point gained in the 2012 World Constructors’ Championship to enter the 2013 championship. Every other team was required to pay a basic fee of US$500,000 plus US$5000 for each point scored in 2012.

Sourced from the Formula 1 website

Most of the teams aim to present their new car to the press in the first week of February.

Big moves:

HAM to Mercedes GP
PER to McLaren
MSC retired at the end of last season.
Hispana Racing Team (HRT) failed to sign-up for the season, they shall not be competing this year.

Shame about Timo Glock, a talented driver who got messed over by the system (Toyota leaving), stuck in a useless car for 3 years and then ends his F1 career. It could have gone so much different too. Ah well.

2 weeks off the first test and 4 cars are still not with a driver, one team (Force India) doesn't even have any drivers confirmed.

In slightly happier news, Pedro de la Rosa has been signed by Ferrari to help with development work, in particular their simulator. Glad to see he is still going to be involved in F1, even if he isn't actually racing due to HRT having to pull out.

Hamilton:He will not be fighting for the title, he stepped down in team and his excuses are he wants to help 'develop' a car, rather than have a car adapted around him
Button i fear will be flying solo in Mclaren, at least for the first half of the season.
Alonso as with button will be flying solo, depending if the good Massa turns up.
Vettel must be the favourite and Webber will be helping Vettel, but i can't see him challenge him
"The Iceman" without a doubt the dark horse, Lotus were impressive, he could very easily challenge.
Grosjean: He could do well if he doesn't crash, if he does it will be his last season with lotus id imagine.

The DRS limited to zones, could make the qualifying interesting. Red bull downforce is probably the best of all the cars, so what effect of that + DRS has had on their qualifying pace?

Caterham have confirmed their second driver - they have promoted their reserve driver Giedo van der Garde to the seat. Effectively putting Heikki Kovalainen out of a job.

Paul di Resta has been confirmed as one of Force India's drivers. Two seats remain unfilled with the first pre-season test beginning next week - at Force India and Marussia. Marussia is still looking for a pay-driver to secure the team's finances.

"There are some very positive aspects of the new Ferrari - and some that I'm not quite as excited about.

"The rear-end treatment, from the back of the engine, looks like a positive step forward.

"I was very critical of their car in that area last year - it was messy, with radiator outlets disrupting the airflow.

"It's much cleaner this year, with a much more aggressive treatment of the 'coke-bottle' area where the bodywork sweeps in between the rear wheels, an area they neglected in 2012. And it looks as if they have a very small gearbox, because the bodywork at the back is very low.

"That's all good for keeping the airflow as effective as possible in a crucial area and it looks like a big step forward.

"Forward of that, I'm less sure. The coke-bottle starts early, which is a very aggressive pursuit of downforce, but can lead to problems. I might have stayed clear of that and I think Ferrari might be the only team doing that.

"I looked at the new McLaren and saw a lot of positive points. The list of obvious gains is smaller on the Ferrari but we'll have to see how it goes on the track."

...his comments on the McLaren MP4-28:

"McLaren finished last year with the fastest car and the new MP4-28 looks like a good improvement on that.

"The steps forward start at the front with a higher nose and chassis, pretty close to the maximum allowed height, which gives more room for better airflow under the car than last year.

"They have followed Ferrari's 2012 lead in using pull-rod front suspension, which has a lower centre of gravity and the pull-rod manages the airflow off the front wing better than the more common push-rod.

"The sidepods have been moved backwards, giving better airflow, and the back has been focused on maximising that flow.

"The driveshaft and lower wishbone have been packaged in one element and the rear bodywork is heavily scooped out to make the most of the downforce-producing 'coke-bottle' area between the rear wheels.

"The idea is to separate that airflow from the exhaust gases, which McLaren have continued to treat in the way they did last year, rather than using Red Bull-style tunnels.

"McLaren are one of the few teams to have small-diameter exhaust exits, which gives faster airflow and therefore more downforce when they hit the aerodynamically shaped rear brake ducts.

"Overall, McLaren look to have made a good step forward."

and his comments on the Force India VJM06:

"The new Force India is an evolution, but they have pushed the boundaries a bit. They started last season poorly and ended it quite strong. They need to maintain that form because they're very good at developing.

"The team have tidied the car up a lot. They've done a lot of work on suspension mechanisms to try and make the tyres perform both consistently and for longer.

"All these cars and aerodynamic surfaces sit on four bits of rubber, so if those four bits of rubber are not having a good time, it doesn't matter what you've got above it.

"The main detail for me is in around the coke bottle area at the rear. They've gone for the rear suspension system which has the rear driveshaft and the lower rear wishbone incorporated into one unit, which means less blockage of the airflow. That's a very important part because in reality that's what makes the front wing work.

"I don't see any risks in the overall concept. I would say they need to look at the front wing again, but that will happen before the start of the season. I think the rest of the car is a neat and tidy package and should be step forward from where they were at the end of last season."

I hope we have an even season again and I dont want to see a driver win it again due to his car being the outright fastest. Hopefully Ferrari will deliver, Button will be good if the Mclarens good and if anyone can win a race in the Mercedes it will be Lewis. I expect Kimi to be good this season too, honestly this season could be even better than last, which imo was possibly the best season of F1 I've ever watched.

This video isn't justification for why I﻿ love a sport in which so many competitors pay the ultimate price, but nevertheless it is in some part why I watch. It is amazing to see people perform their craft unlike anyone else can, for better or worse. It is haunting, sad, fantastic, celebratory. Happy 50th, McLaren. And RIP Speedy Kiwi.

I only hope that Mercedes will be decent enough to give Lewis a chance at a podium once in a while (would love him to win at least once, but merc won only once in last 3 years, so I'm being realistic) as he's my favourite driver now that Schumacher retired.

Huh I had honestly thought Marussia had confirmed their other driver already. Must have been thinking of Caterham apparently.

And I find it truly surprising Force India haven't found a second driver yet (have they even confirmed Paul di Resta yet? I've been a little out of the loop for 2 months. ).

Well I'm looking forward to the new season. I honestly can't see Hamilton doing as well as he would like at Mercedes, but then they're probably a bit skewed by the past few seasons where they've done virtually nothing but disappoint. I too think Button will be leading the McLaren charge to start with. I just hope that Perez doesn't hit too many things at the start of his tenure while he gets better acquainted with his car. Ferrari we shall see, it looks like they're at the very least starting with a much stronger car.

Red Bull... well it's honestly hard to think how they can improve. They went from dominant, to barely scraping the Driver's Championship. Though they did dominate the Constructor's championship thanks to the reliability of Mark Webber. We'll have to see how much the other teams have managed to play catch up before seeing what they can pull out of the bag to try to stay ahead. Hoping for good things from Lotus. Raikonnen is a legend. With luck Grosjean will have learnt that it's not a video game and crashing has real penalties. Another season like last year's and he's out. Williams I'm hoping it's not going to be a low like 2 years ago. Amazing resurgence last season, just hope they can keep it up.

Oh and a happy note. It looks like British drivers outnumber the Germans on the grid. \o/ Now if only we had 100% coverage. Going to miss Jake Humpheries.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.

And I find it truly surprising Force India haven't found a second driver yet (have they even confirmed Paul di Resta yet? I've been a little out of the loop for 2 months. ).

Yes he is confirmed, he is also a driver with a good enough pedigree that he will likely upgrade teams next season. He's also British, so he is likely to be favored by a team with lots of UK ties such as McLaren, Williams, Lotus, etc. In a sense Force India is also UK based as they run their operation out of Silverstone.

Well I'm looking forward to the new season. I honestly can't see Hamilton doing as well as he would like at Mercedes, but then they're probably a bit skewed by the past few seasons where they've done virtually nothing but disappoint. I too think Button will be leading the McLaren charge to start with. I just hope that Perez doesn't hit too many things at the start of his tenure while he gets better acquainted with his car. Ferrari we shall see, it looks like they're at the very least starting with a much stronger car.

Red Bull... well it's honestly hard to think how they can improve. They went from dominant, to barely scraping the Driver's Championship. Though they did dominate the Constructor's championship thanks to the reliability of Mark Webber. We'll have to see how much the other teams have managed to play catch up before seeing what they can pull out of the bag to try to stay ahead. Hoping for good things from Lotus. Raikonnen is a legend. With luck Grosjean will have learnt that it's not a video game and crashing has real penalties. Another season like last year's and he's out. Williams I'm hoping it's not going to be a low like 2 years ago. Amazing resurgence last season, just hope they can keep it up.

I think Hamilton knows what he's doing. Rosberg is good, not great and Schumacher had been utterly horrible. You can't really measure their 2011-2012 cars by any reasonable metric against any others without equalizing the drivers.

Red Bull also knows what it's doing. They were off the pace at the start, but neither drive DNF'd more than twice all season. They were consistent, if not the fastest, and by the end their cars were faster than anyone's except McLaren's.

Grosjean is a great driver and many of the incidents were not his fault. It sucks to stuck in the midpack because Kimi is running the primary pit strategy and the obvious #1, then you get the real menace, Pastor Maldonado, crashing into you half the time.